State-owned miner NMDC Limited July 17 said it is set to resume operations at its Donimalai Iron Ore Mine in Karnataka following the state high court order in favour of it over a dispute related to 80 per cent premium imposed by the state government.
NMDC in November last year suspended the iron ore mining from Donimalai in Ballari district after the state government by its November 2, 2018 order imposed premium equivalent to 80 per cent of average sale price of iron ore while extending the mining lease for a period of 20 years.
Subsequently, the NDMC filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court challenging the state Commerce and Industries department order imposing the premium, which was allowed by the court in a recent order.
After closure of Donimalai Iron Ore Mine for more than eight months, NMDC is set to resume operations in accordance with the Honourable High Court of Karnataka decision, NMDC said in a statement here.
NMDC has approached Karnataka Government to facilitate execution of lease deed and resumption of operations at Donimalai Mine, it said.
The resumption of mining at Donimalai would avoid further loss to national and state exchequer apart from providing the much needed iron ore to the steel industry for the development of the state, the company said.
Though, it had been a long wait for NMDC, the news has "brought in lot of cheers" especially to steelmakers of Karnataka, investors, mining fraternity, customers and employees who have been eagerly waiting for this, Chairman and Managing Director of NDMC N Baijendra Kumar said.
In its July 10 order, a bench of Justices L Narayana Swamy and P S Dinesh Kumar allowed the petition of NDMC, holding that the impugned condition to levy premium while extending the period of lease was "unsustainable in law and liable to be quashed".
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